Everything
by SISbabyy
Summary: Future BL. Brooke Davis is now a famous fashion designer about to get married. Suddenly, her past shows up unexpectedly and she realizes she has made a mistake long ago. And now her world is about to be turned in every direction she never thought possible
1. One More Week

**A/N**: New story! I know I haven't written one in a long time but I just thought of this one day and now I'm trying it out. So reviews are very much needed! This is a future BL story with possible Season 5 spoilers. Please enjoy and don't forget to review at the end!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything. Mark Schwann does and I did BL would be together!

**Summary**: BL. Possible Season 5 Spoilers. Brooke is a famous fashion designer that has everything she could ever want and need. She has the perfect life, she's rich, she has an amazing job, and as of now, she has a fiancé. But a week before her wedding, the people of her past show up unexpectedly. Can Brooke handle it all and possibly repair her broken past? Brooke will learn what it feels like when the most important person of all pops up and turns her world upside down, side to side and in every other direction possible.

**Chapter 1**** Just One Week**

**Sunday**

It was a bright sunny day in New York City, and Brooke Davis had just left her penthouse to catch a cab to go to work. She owned her own company, Clothes Over Bros, and lived a very successful life. She had a wonderful fiancé, people adored her, and she was filthy rich. This was the life her mother had ever wanted for her, and for the moments that she spent with all of this, the best she could do was enjoy it.

Her mother tried to stay in contact a lot more, now that she was rich and successful. Brooke's fiancé, Marcus Wade, was an extremely rich bachelor, until Brooke got together with him. Now they were both so rich they could buy a whole apartment building if they really wanted to, and a horse along with it.

Having so much money opened up so many doors for Brooke that she never thought possible. Ever since she produced a huge profit, she did not really have to work that hard to get things. She would basically just snap her fingers and everything came to her.

She wasn't going to be a trophy wife, because bottom line it wasn't her style. But she and Marcus were going to be considered one of the richest couples in New York. _That_ had a nice ring to it.

Brooke sauntered into her office, that was the biggest one out of the whole company, and passed by the people that worked with her. She had many friends there, because she wasn't a cold hearted bitch like everyone thought she was going to be, and so she said hello to them every morning. Brooke dropped that bitter bitch act in high school.

There was an emergency this morning, something about a ripping of the dresses, so Brooke had to come in and sort some things out on a Sunday. But honestly, she didn't mind.

"Hey Brooke!" her assistant, Carrie greeted.

"Hello Carrie, how are you?"

"Oh you know the usual. Still looking for a guy to spend the rest of my life with." She joked.

Brooke smiled, she was happy that she finally found someone to spend the rest of _her_ life with. She was so tired of all the heartbreak she went through during high school and afterwards. When she stumbled upon Marcus, she couldn't have been more grateful, and he couldn't have come at a better time.

"I'm sure you'll find someone soon." Brooke told her sweetly. She did truly hope Carrie found someone because no one deserved to be alone, especially since Brooke knew what it was like to be alone, and she wouldn't wish that on anybody.

Little did Brooke know that someone Carrie was looking for, was arriving very _very_ soon.

Carrie smiled and nodded her head, "So how are the wedding plans going?"

"Pretty good, considering I'm getting married next Sunday." Brooke laughed.

It was almost like once she was married, everything would fall into place. She wouldn't have to deal with dating again or the thought of breaking up. Marriage was like her invitation to a happy, healthy, full life. She couldn't wait to get married and start that new life.

She had been planning the wedding for about two to three months and everyone looked at her like she was crazy. Usually, people in the celebrity world either elope or wait a year to get married. And then they break up three months later. Brooke didn't want this to happen, but she wanted to married to Marcus as fast as she could and with her schedule and hectic clothing line, she finally found the perfect day to get married on, and it was only a week away. So far, Brooke wasn't completely a wreck.

"I can't wait to go to your wedding," Carrie gushed, "It's going to be so glamorous!"

"Let's just hope the paparazzi don't interrupt it." Brooke commented before settling down into her desk. She had a view of the whole city behind her on the big window that covered half of her office.

"They always do." Carrie told her before returning back to her work.

And boy did Brooke know it. When Marcus proposed the paparazzi went insane and crowded their penthouse and the park where he proposed. She had no where to go so she had to stay with her parents. And after that, she was convinced that no other day had been more horrible then the day she stayed with her parents.

She called the girls in so she could take a look at the dress she was dealing with and they all jogged in, with worried faces.

"Okay Brooke sorry for making you come in on a Sunday but this was really, really important." One of the girls, Audrey, said to her.

Brooke laughed at how afraid they were of her. "You guys it's no big deal. If you need me, I'll be here."

The girls didn't know what else to say so they nodded. "There is a rip in here but it's pretty huge."

"How did it get this way?"

"Well while they were at a fashion show for the premiere of the clothes, another model stepped on the back train of it and ripped the whole entire dress off of the models body."

_'What a disaster.'_ Brooke thought.

Audrey leaned down close to Brooke's face and whispered, "And the worst part is, the paparazzi got every shot and now it's all over the news. Both models won't find jobs anywhere else."

"That's terrible," Brooke said, "Maybe I can help the model out and give her a job somewhere."

The girls looked at her in shock.

"What was the girl's name who got the dress ripped off of her?" Brooke asked.

The other girl, Cassandra, thought hard. Then she shot up like a bolt of lightening. "I think her name was…Rachel something."

"Didn't her last name start with a 'G?" Audrey asked.

"Yeah," Cassandra said nodding, "I think it was Gattino or Gattiny…"

"Gatina?" Brooke asked, just as shocked as they were before.

The minute she muttered the name, she shuddered. She didn't even want to think about Rachel.

"That's it!" They both yelled at the same time.

"Do you know her?" Audrey asked.

Brooke nodded slowly, "I used to."

"Get me her number immediately." Brooke demanded. She couldn't believe that Rachel had been in this city let alone a model for her clothes! How could she have missed that?

The girls told Carrie all of the information and Carrie jumped right on it, typing away at her desk.

Brooke then began shuffling through papers when her cell phone rang, it was Marcus. She smiled.

"Hey babe," She greeted, "How was your day?"

"Great actually," He said cheerfully, "I met one of your old friends from high school."

Brooke, assuming it was one of the girls she used to hang out with, just smiled and nodded.

"What was her name?"

"It was actually a 'he'." He replied.

Brooke didn't say anything. What could she say when her fiancé met one of her guy friends from high school? Oh God what if it was _Tim_?

"A Lucas Scott he says."

Brooke almost dropped the phone. Lucas Scott? What was he doing here?

"What was he doing here?" She asked calmly, even though inside she was screaming her head off.

"He wrote another book so he was here for a signing, I ran into him in the bookstore."

Before Brooke could say anything more, Marcus had to go. "I'll tell you more about it when I get home. I love you!"

"Love you too," She replied before clicking off.

Lucas wrote a _second_ book? Since when did his first one get _published_?

"Brooke? I have the number for you."

She would need to call Rachel sooner or later considering the way she left things with her. And she would definitely avoid Lucas because she was afraid of how she would react when she saw him. She sighed, just one more week until her wedding, just one more week.

-

How did you like it? More feedback will bring more chapters! Please review!


	2. Don't Wait

**A/N: Okay so here's Chapter 2! I want to thank everyone that reviewed last time and I also want to thank my beta Miranda for helping me with this chapter and getting this to you fast! Please read and review at the end! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2 Don't Wait**

**Sunday Evening**

Brooke's hands began shaking as she tried to dial the numbers on her phone. Who knew calling Rachel would be this nerve wracking?

Brooke put the phone to her ear and almost prayed that Rachel wouldn't answer. She knew that since they'd had a blowout the last time they'd talked Rachel wouldn't be so forgiving about it. One out of the many things Rachel was good at was keeping a grudge. It wasn't really Brooke's fault that they'd had a fight. It all started that last day of summer. After that Rachel hadn't tried to talk to her which was about 5 years ago…

"Hello?" Rachel's voice echoed in the phone.

And suddenly it was like Brooke's voice was ripped out from her. All her life Brooke was the one that talked constantly. Whenever there was an uncomfortable silence Brooke was the first to break the barrier. Whenever there was a fight Brooke was the one to be in it and whenever a friend needed help or anything at all Brooke was there to talk them through all of it. Needless to say Brooke's raspy, sexy voice was her trademark.

"He-hello," Brooke finally choked out. There was silence on the other end and for a moment Brooke doubted herself.

"This _is_ Rachel right?" Brooke asked, almost pleading with the person on the other end just to _pretend_ it's Rachel even if it isn't.

"Maybe," the person replied. "It depends if you're Brooke Davis."

Brooke cleared her throat. "Yes Rachel it's me, Brooke. I have to talk to you."

"Oh really? Well why don't you just accuse me of being a bad friend again like you did 5 years ago!"

"I'm sorry…" Brooke began, but was cut off by Rachel's harsh voice.

"You're just sorry? That's it? That's all you have to say? Do you even know what I've been going through for the past 5 years? No, you wouldn't because you didn't care! Ever since that night you shut everyone out! And then you decided to ditch us all again at the Rivercourt! So I'm sorry if I'm not making you posters and putting your names on billboards because you called me." Rachel sighed.

"Isn't it just important that I called you now?" Brooke asked, begging her to just let it go. Somehow she knew that wasn't going to happen.

"Well." Rachel paused. "Not really."

Brooke cursed Rachel for being so damn stubborn. Couldn't she just forgive Brooke this one time? They'd had a great friendship before all of this crap happened so she couldn't understand why they couldn't just pick up where they'd left off.

"Rachel, I've been going through a lot these past 5 years too and did you ever think that I had a _reason_ for not going to the Rivercourt? I bet you didn't! So you can say that you had so much going on with you in the past, but I did too and now all I'm trying to do is try and salvage our old friendship and maybe talk about your model mishap!" Brooke yelled, exhausted with this whole conversation. She definitely didn't think it would be this hard to start talking to Rachel again.

A long pause was on the other end and honestly Brooke was thinking about just hanging it up. She was about the click it off when she heard a tiny voice on the other end.

"You know about that?"

Brooke sighed, happy she got somewhere with her. "Yeah, considering you wore my designs."

Brooke could tell Rachel was going back and forth in her mind and she figured Rachel would just end up changing her mind and hanging up the phone.

"Coffee, tomorrow, on 54th. I'll be there at 5:00, not a second later and not a minute earlier," Rachel said in a businesslike tone. "I'll see you."

The last part actually sounded like she wanted to go, but Brooke couldn't read her these days.

"I'll be there," was the last thing Brooke said before she hung up the phone and began walking out of her office, desperately in need of a nap.

She would just have to find out a way to bring up their terrible night another time.

"Okay, I'm going to head out! Just call me if you guys are in trouble or if you need anything!" Brooke called to her office staff before she headed out the door. She was leaving the office early today to rush home and see Marcus. She couldn't wait to marry him.

She passed by the clothes store and saw a beautiful wedding gown on the mannequin in the front. She had always planned on making her own dress, but with the way things were going and how busy she was getting she was beginning to not be so sure. The dress was so beautiful and Brooke already knew it would look fabulous on her. Everyone would be jealous for two reasons that day. One: she was getting married and two: she _still _looked amazing in white and a wedding dress.

She smiled to herself as she passed the store, making a mental note go back and check it out again. She looked at the store again and noticed a bookstore right next to it with a big sign that says "Quick! Grab second book by the new aspiring writer Lucas Scott book called 'The Secrets Behind My Red Door!' "

Brooke's smile immediately turned into a frown. So it was true. Marcus talking to Lucas, Lucas being back in town. It was all true. She'd hoped that it was some kind of dream and that Marcus had never talked to Lucas and never planned on talking to Lucas again.

Brooke read over the title one more time and gasped. 'The Secrets Behind My Red Door' was not just any old title. It was a title about the two of them. The whole 'red door' has been a symbol and even a remembrance for what they used to be and what they both were. And now Lucas putting it in his title for his new book just didn't make sense. Since when did Lucas publish his first book? All Brooke knew was that it was written. And what about this second book? When did he have time to write it?

She tried to shake it off by continuing walking home and thinking of how Marcus would be there when she arrived. She walked up the street, turned into her penthouse, greeted the doorman and sprinted to the elevator. Once she was there she ran into someone. Someone that she thought she would never see again.

"Mouth?" she asked when she saw a man standing beside her that looked awfully familiar. She would never in a million years think that she would see Marvin McFadden again in her life. They had lost such touch in the past 5 years that she didn't blame him for not calling or even asking about her to any of their friends. They'd also kind of had a falling out all those years ago. As with other people.

_5 years ago_

_After the group had started to fade out and everyone was starting to go home Brooke stayed at the __Rivercourt__, sitting on the picnic table. She figured everyone else was gone and that she would be alone tonight, like always, but was surprised when a figure stood in front of her._

_"How are you?" Mouth McFadden asked her in almost a whisper. His three little words made her feel so much better, like she wasn't alone in this world and like she finally was a part of something other then just being alone._

_"I could be better," Brooke chuckled softly and Mouth sat down next to her._

_"I saw your face in the circle, it didn't look too happy," __h__e commented._

_"Yeah well how else are you supposed to feel when all of your friends are moving away and you still have no idea what you're going to do?" _

_"You have that Victoria Secret contract I thought. Aren't you going to pursue that dream?" __h__e urged._

_"I was," Brooke began__"But now I'm not so sure. I mean I love fashion__ but it's kind of useless if you don't get recognized."_

_Mouth sighed, "This isn't Brooke Davis talking. The real Brooke Davis would say 'to hell with everyone I'm going to be a fashion designer.'"_

_"I haven't been the 'real' Brooke Davis for a while now Mouth."_

_"I know, and I hate it," __h__e sai__d.__ "What's wrong?"_

_"You know what's wrong."_

_"You can't let her take away everything you've built and everything you've worked for. Just because Lucas is taken by your best friend doesn't mean you get to throw away your __world,"__he__ said__ getting frustrated._

_"Mouth, I can do what I want. And why are you getting so upset about this?" __s__he asked._

_"Because you make me so mad at Lucas," Mouth whispered and Brooke wasn't even sure if she heard him._

_"Mouth…"_

_"No, I just-" __He__ sighe__d.__"Like Lucas said in his __book you're__going__ to change the world someday and you know what__? H__e's__ right because you really don't know it. And I'm not giving you this speech because __we're__ all leaving__. I'm__ giving this to you because you need it. You need to know that you're still special even though some of your friends betrayed you. They still love you above all of it."_

_"I __know. I just__ wish I could feel it."_

_"You will Brooke, you will." He put his arm around her and she laid her head on his chest. She wanted to just forget the world and everything that happened. She knew Mouth was __right. She__ wasn't going to get anywhere if she was just sulking half the time._

_"You know what__? I__ don't think I will," Brooke said, a smile now forming on her face like she had a bright new idea._

_"Brooke…"Mouth began, "You can't keep thinking like this! It's going to destroy you maybe __even more__ then it already has!"_

_Brooke's smile turned into a frown. What?_

_"That really wasn't necessary Mouth__," she__ said in a monotone, not bothering to show him any emotio__n.__ "Have a nice life."_

"Brooke?" he asked in astonishment.

"How are you?" She asked, putting on a bright smile.

"Great," he said just as enthusiastically. "I can't go now, but I would really like to go out for coffee sometime. I'd love to hear about your business."

"How did you…"

"It's all over," he said as the elevator doors opened and he began to step out. "You're completely world wide Brooke Davis. I'll be in touch!"

Brooke felt herself smile at the mention of how she was world wide. These were the little moments when she loved her life and loved to be Brooke Davis.

-

She walked into her penthouse and saw Marcus on the couch relaxing. She sauntered over to him and sat on his lap, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You're home early," he noticed as he dropped a kiss on her forehead.

"Work can be so stressful, I just needed to get away and come home to you."

"This is how it will always be once we get married," Marcus whispered in her ear. "Won't it be nice?"

She smiled at the vision until a certain blonde haired boy appeared in the picture. She could literally see it now…

_Lucas and Brooke are snuggling on the couch in their little apartment that they had just bought together. It is two months after their wedding and __they were__ still in the 'newlywed' stage._

_"This is nic__e,"__ Lucas said while wrapping one arm around her and his other hand holding a book._

_She __sighed. "Yeah__, it really is."_

_Just then there is a knock on the door and Nathan, Haley, Jamie, Peyton, Jake, Rachel and Mouth burst through the door__ all claiming they wanted a party._

_"But not a really wild one because Jamie has a bed time and…"_

_"Don't worry about it Hales, everything will be taken __care of," Nathan__ reassured._

_"Uh guys, this is our apartment and we were just enjoying it in __peace," Lucas__ told them._

_Brooke nodded her __head. "Yeah, I mean__ don't get me __wrong. You know__ I love __parties, but this__ time…this time I just want to be with Lucas in our new apartment."_

_Lucas kissed her quickly on the lips before jumping off the couch._

_"Out!" __he __exclaimed happily and after many grumbles they left._

_Lucas claimed his seat back on the couch with Brooke. She leaned her head on his shoulder and they resumed in their position._

_"Much better," Lucas whispered in her hair and Brooke nodded, snuggling closer into his chest._

She shook her head and slapped a smile on in front of Marcus, making it look like she loved the vision she saw and that she didn't just see a vision of Lucas and her friends instead of him.

"I can't wait," she whispered back.

Why was this happening? More importantly, why was this happening _now_? What was going on?

She needed to get a hold of her past again if she wanted to stop the visions. She needed to stop this guilt and regret she figured she was feeling and stop the ghosts that she had in her closet that were now walking the earth. She needed to find out what everyone was doing and she also needed to know why she was seeing Lucas and her friends in visions that weren't even real.

And she only had 7 days to do it.

_Don't wait._

-

Please read and review! They help me with my writing and also they encourage me to write more!


	3. Please, Please, Please

**Okay, so I know that I have been a bad author for not updating sooner but I just had the biggest writers block and I didn't know what to do. So after basically not writing for a little while one day I just got this inspiration and that is why the chapter is here right now. I didn't have time to put it through my beta so if there are spelling errors or any kind of errors, that's why and I apologize. I realize some people might have forgotten this story and that's a shame but for those who stuck with me, I appreciate it so much. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a bit longer than my other ones but I don't think you will mind ;)**

**Chapter 3 Please, Please, Please**

**Monday Morning**

"Please, please, please!" Brooke pleaded with Marcus. Since the wedding was coming up right around the corner and Brooke had the genius plan of getting back in touch with all of her friends, the ones that hurt her and all, she had been whining to Marcus that she would need some plane tickets.

"Brooke, honey, I don't have a problem getting you the tickets. The only problem I have is that I do not want you hurt again by some of these friends."

Why did he have to be so _perfect_? Brooke could have melted right then and there. She hadn't told him about what had happened with Lucas, other then they used to date but she claimed it was nothing serious. He had, however, heard about Peyton Sawyer and let's just say he was not too fond of her after that.

"Marcus, don't worry about me. I can take care of myself! I mean I survived all those years without you right?" She joked.

He laughed and kissed her forehead. "I don't know how you did it either."

She playfully slapped him. "I was soo independent back then you have no idea. I made G.I. Jane look like a lost puppy!"

Chuckling once again, Marcus wrapped his arms around Brooke's waist and pulled her in close, "If you want these tickets, and if this makes you happy, I'll call right now."

Brooke squealed, turned around and pulled Marcus into a nice long kiss. "Thank you so much! You have no idea how great this is!"

Marcus nodded, "Good, I'm going to go and call to get the tickets."

_And this was a good thing_, Brooke thought. On the other hand, she wasn't exactly looking forward to opening up all the wounds that she had so not graciously packed away years before. She was finally over all the drama of her high school and now she was moving on and marrying Marcus, a wonderful sweet, rich guy that loved her and would do anything for her, and the other way around. 

She couldn't wait to be married, but every time she thought of Lucas she would get cold feet. _This is just great, after being with Lucas for so long I've become so damn indecisive!_

After seeing Marcus go into the other room for the call, Brooke whipped out her own cell phone, getting ready to call Rachel and make sure she still had plans for her, and then she was going to head off to work. And maybe stop at her favorite coffee shop on the way.

-

She passed her favorite coffee shop named 'Only in Your Dreams'. The name, she later found out, was supposed to mean that once you tried a sip of their coffee, hot chocolate, latte's, frappacino's, etc, it would immediately drift you off into your idea of a dream of the most wonderful dreams because they were so 'heavenly'. The first time Brooke found it out she immediately was drawn to the meaning. It was at a hard time in her life, and she remembered having that coffee shop as her hope.

It was right after she left Tree Hill High and set off to New York. She was at her internship but she wasn't fitting in at all, and the designers did not like what she was putting on the table. So she left one day, just stormed out and found this little place. She had her sketches with her and she just ordered a coffee and sat down by the window, looking out at all the people walking and sometimes wishing that she was like them. The server came out to her and gave her the coffee she ordered.

"_That's really beautiful." _The waitress had said. Brooke smiled in return and thanked her. By the time she finished her coffee the waitress found out that Brooke was in the fashion business and a budding intern. Turned out the waitress loved fashion and they talked about it for a full hour before Brooke told her she would get fired if she didn't get out of here. Ever since then, Brooke came back and she and the girl would talk some times. She hadn't seen her around lately though.

She told Rachel to meet her at the Starbucks on the corner, not exactly ready to show everyone her favorite place. The place wasn't very crowded most of the time, which is another thing Brooke loved about it. It was so quiet that she even sketched out a few designs while sitting there, always remembering the kind girl who gave her back her hope.

She managed to arrive only 5 minutes late, which for Brooke was a record because she was always, always fashionably late. She spotted the red head sitting at a table sipping her already ordered coffee. _'Thanks Rachel.'_

"Hey sorry I'm a little bit late I had an errand to run." Brooke told her as she sat down. Brooke's face was flushed from the wind outside.

"It's fine." Rachel told her and sipped her coffee once more. Brooke hoped this wasn't how it was going to be the whole time.

"I see you already ordered." Brooke said awkwardly and took a couple of breaths.



"Yeah, I decided I couldn't wait any longer."

"That's fine. Now I asked you here to talk about a few things."

This time, Rachel put her coffee cup down and looked Brooke straight in the eye. Brooke could tell a hurricane Gattina was coming and Brooke braced herself for the hit.

"I want to talk about the night when everything went to crap. I'm sure you remember it because everyone else did."

"Rachel…" Brooke began but was shut down.

"You accused me of the utmost betrayal and that still doesn't sit well with me. How could you think that I was the one who spreaded the rumor that you were trying to sabotage Peyton's relationship with Lucas by convincing her to stay! I knew you inside and out back then and you _still_ believed that I would say something like that!"

"Rachel the only reason I believed you was because a trillion people were coming up to me that I knew that said you told them about my 'secret' plan! What else was I supposed to do?"

The second half of senior year had been hard for Brooke. Finding out that her best friend was dating her ex boyfriend again really took a toll on her emotions. They got the best of her, as they always have, and Brooke found herself saying things she didn't mean. She told Rachel that she was going to try and break Lucas and Peyton up because she was so mad. Somehow, people found out and Brooke blamed Rachel for the whole thing, prompting this 4 year feud between them.

"Oh I don't know, maybe believe in your best friend!"

Brooke stopped, realizing that if she just told Rachel that she was sorry, all of this would hopefully be forgotten. Now that she got Rachel's side of the story, she feels stupid for ever believing that Rachel was even apart of all that she blamed her for.

"So if it wasn't you then who was it?" Brooke asked. One more question for the road.

"I have no idea."

"I'm sorry Rachel. I shouldn't have just assumed that you did say something when you gave me no reason other then to believe you. I was really bitter back then and I'm sorry that I took it out on you and lost our friendship for a while. The reason I asked you back was so that you might want to be at my wedding when I get married next Sunday. I'd really love for you to be there."

Rachel sighed and looked Brooke in the eye. She could tell Brooke was being honest and truthfully, Rachel was trying to put this behind her as much as Brooke was. After a few moments of contemplating, Rachel gave in for two reasons, 1) she missed Brooke and 2) she loved weddings.

"I'd love to go." Rachel said and Brooke got up and hugged her. "But I have to think about it."



"I've missed you bitch."

"Right back at you whore."

After she and Rachel talked she found out that the whole disaster on the runway was because Rachel had slept with the model's boyfriend the night before and the model lashed out at her and they ended up ruining the dresses.

Rachel wasn't on her side just yet, but there was still hope. After all, Rachel _was_ going to think about it.

Deciding to call in for work today, Brooke went back to her penthouse to try and sort things out. She knew she would never be able to work with her mind full anyways.

When she got home Marcus was just on his way out.

"Oh Brooke I got the tickets that you wanted, 5 for Tree Hill North Carolina right?"

"Right." She nodded and he smiled and kissed her goodbye. The door shut and he was off to go back to his demanding job.

Suddenly he popped back in for a second. "Oh and I almost forgot, I think there's a message on there for you."

Brooke's mouth went dry. "Thanks babe."

What if it was Lucas? Would he really try and find her number? And then have the nerve to call her?

Her shaky hands led the way as she walked over to the machine. She pressed the button and waited to see who was on the line. She tried reassuring herself it was just some major corporation calling to confirm an appointment. It didn't work.

"_Hey B. Davis! I know you would probably not expect me to call let along contact you at all but I heard your getting married and I just wanted to tell you that I can't believe you didn't tell me! Okay, okay, that's a lie I really didn't think you would tell me because of what happened in L.A. but I just wanted to tell you that I'm really happy for you and that I'll be in New York this week on Tuesday so if you wanted to catch up I would really love that." A pause. "I really am sorry for all of my mistakes Brooke, I'm different now though, and it would be great if you just gave me a chance to redeem myself. Just think about it will you? My number is 555-2475. I miss you. Peyton."_

Brooke almost smiled. Peyton called her and wanted to meet up and she was coming to New York. How perfect could all of this be? Mouth was here, Rachel was considering and Peyton was coming back to town. _This was going to be so easy it might even be harmless,_ Brooke thought. Right. Like anything is harmless in Brooke Davis' world.

Brooke got the phone and began dialing up Peyton's number. It rang and rang and Brooke hoped she didn't have to leave a message.



"Hello?" A voice finally answered.

"Peyton? It's Brooke."

"Brooke! I can't believe it. You must have gotten my message. I'm so glad you called."

Brooke sighed. "Me too. When do you get here?"

"Actually in a couple of hours. My flight was bumped up so I get to come earlier than I had planned. Can we get together tomorrow?"

"Of course, we have so much to talk about." Brooke said, and really meant it.

"I know we do, we really, really do."

"I'll see you tomorrow." Brooke said and hung up the energy she once had now gone.

She thought she would be more excited that Peyton was coming back. I mean, Peyton was still one of her best friends. She just wasn't sure if she could forgive her for what she did in California.

What Peyton did wasn't so forgivable, but Brooke was tired of the weight.

It all started when they left after graduation. While Peyton and Brooke both went to L.A. to figure themselves out and for Peyton to start on her new job, Lucas had stayed behind. Lucas and Peyton thought it would be for the best and Brooke did too, because then she wouldn't have to see the two of them together all the time. It was her getaway from Lucas and Peyton land.

Peyton had even promised that if Lucas came back, she wouldn't blow Brooke off for him, and that it wouldn't be awkward for all of them. Peyton would respect Brooke's wishes and if it got too awkward, then Peyton would just back out and take Brooke home.

Until one night, when Lucas actually showed up at their door. Brooke could remember it so clearly.

_The doorbell rang and Brooke scrambled to get it. Brooke and Peyton were going out to dinner to celebrate Peyton's promotion and Brooke's final decision on where she wanted to go and what she wanted to do. Everything was finally falling into place it seemed like, and Brooke and Peyton were both getting a long so well._

"_I'll be there in a second!" Brooke yelled at the person behind the door. "Okay, okay I'm here."_

_She opened the door to a smiling Lucas, standing there with flowers in his hand. Brooke's mouth could have been to the floor if she had not been prepared for this moment. She thought about it often actually, and always had a plan to stick to if it ever came around. Well, she didn't spend all night planning the plan if she was never going to use it._

"_Lucas, what a surprise!" Brooke explained, feigning happiness and hugged him. They pulled away at the sound of Peyton's voice._

"_Who is it?" She asked as she came down the hallway, fixing an earring. She dropped it once she saw who it was._

"_Luke, I-I can't believe it's you." She said and ran over to hug him. It nearly toppled him over. "I've missed you so much!" _

"_I've missed you too Peyton, I've missed you both." Lucas said, looking Brooke straight in the eyes._

_Lucas and Peyton pulled away._

"_I must be interrupting something because you both look so beautiful. I can come back later it's fine."_

_Brooke was going to let Lucas leave all on his own but Peyton wouldn't have it._

"_Come out to dinner with us," She blurted out and Brooke glared at her. What happened to what they discussed? "It's just a promotion and Brooke's new outlook on life. You can definitely come out with us."_

"_Peyton…" Brooke pleaded from under her breath. Peyton nudged her a little and told her it would be fine._

_The night didn't turn out fine at all though. The whole time Peyton showered Lucas with compliments and attention while Brooke sat in the corner practically gagging and regretting she ever came out. Brooke could see Lucas wasn't sharing the same kind of emotion but he tried as best as he could which was obviously enough for Peyton. Whenever Brooke would talk, Peyton would interrupt, whenever Lucas would ask Brooke a question, Peyton would answer for her. It was like Brooke wasn't there at all and that their plan had never been made._

_Once they got home and Lucas said his goodbye's to them, Brooke really laid into Peyton._

"_Are you kidding me!" Brooke yelled. "You said you weren't going to be like that with him! You promised!"_

"_Brooke, you should have known that I would want to spend time with my boyfriend. I mean he came all the way to L.A. for me!"_

"_Correction, it was for his book and you two are on a 'break' anyways so you aren't even going out!" Brooke snapped._

"_Brooke you know how Lucas is, he's always doing spontaneous things and he came to L.A. spontaneously and I just wanted to be with him. I really love him, you know."_

"_I loved him too Peyton, but that didn't stop you from getting your claws into our relationship." _

_This got Peyton steamed._

"_You know what Brooke? Just because he didn't want you that doesn't mean you have to ruin my night with him. I saw the way you tried to be all cute and sweet with him, if you want to see a homewrecker, look in the mirror."_

_Brooke was speechless._

"_Fine," She said and began walking to her room when she stopped. "You know what? Tonight was supposed to be about me celebrating my new life and thanks to you, I really do have a clean slate."_

_The next day Brooke jetted off to New York, not looking back at L.A. or Tree Hill or anywhere else but New York, the city that never sleeps. Brooke hardly slept anymore, so it was perfect. _



And now Peyton was coming here to reconcile with her? Brooke sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

She walked over to the window, gazing out at all the people walking. This was one of the times where she wanted to be someone else, someone who wasn't getting married this week, someone who didn't have so much pressure on her and someone who didn't have such a messed up past.

Just then, walking in the blur of mixed people, was a very big part of her past and he was walking straight into the book store. Brooke's heart began racing. She couldn't believe she was seeing Lucas in person again. Well, not exactly in person but kind of. She had to go down there and see what he was up to.

And once Brooke Davis put her mind to something, it got done.

'_So I called you home your so called father was on the phone._

_He wasn't easy to ignore.' _

The last line was from the song Please, Please, Please by Shout Out Louds. I hope you liked this chapter and I hope to have the next chapter out soon; I am working on it right now. Please stick with this story, it will be finished, I promise. Please review!


	4. Let Me In

**Hey Everyone! I know it has been a little while since I updated but I have the rest of the story pretty much figured out so the updates should be coming sooner and more regular. Thank you again for all the reviews and thank you for sticking by this story with me even when it was on hiatus for a little bit. This chapter is a little bit longer and it has Brucas in it! So please review when you're done!

* * *

****Chapter 4 Let Me In**

**Monday, 3:00 p.m.**

Okay, so it was probably stupid of her to follow Lucas into a bookstore. I mean, who was she kidding? She didn't really _want_ to see Lucas that badly anyways so why was she wasting her time?

Apparently, it didn't matter because Brooke went in the bookstore anyways and ducked in a row of bookshelves where she could see Lucas talking to a lady at a booth. He was at a book signing.

_Oh God._

The whole bookstore was dead silent, except for the polite conversation Lucas was having with his apparent fans. To disguise and distract herself she picked up a random book and opened up to it. She wasn't able to look at the fine print though because she saw a lady sitting next to Lucas. The same one that he was talking to when Brooke first came in. She saw Lucas lean into her and whisper something to him and laugh. It was weird for her, to look at Lucas and see a whole new life right in front of her. She didn't know him anymore, she realized, and she felt a pang in her chest at the thought.

She closed the book she was holding and looked down at it. It was the book that Lucas Scott wrote, the one that he was signing right this second. She dropped it in a panic.

The silence that filtered throughout the bookstore was interrupted by Brooke's book mishap. Everyone turned to look at her, everyone including Lucas Scott. She looked him in the eyes for the first time since they graduated and since the time when he told her about what he wrote about her in his book.

It was intense, too intense, and she had to look away. But she didn't. Luckily, a fan screamed.

"Brooke Davis!" The girl yelled and ran over to her. Brooke still held his gaze.

"Can I please get your autograph?" The girl exclaimed and finally Brooke pulled away from the trance.

"Sure," She smiled, her dimples fully showing and got a pen out to sign the same book that Lucas had just signed moments before. Both of their signatures would be in the same book, and for some reason, that irked Brooke. It almost made her feel like she and Lucas were the power couple. She shook her head of those thoughts and smiled again at the girl.

"Thanks! This is like the greatest day ever! I just got an autograph from the Lucas Scott and Brooke Davis!" She exclaimed again and then ran out of the store to go and tell her friends that she had just gotten two of the most famous people's around signatures. Brooke almost laughed. If only the girl knew that she had a long and torrid past with Lucas Scott, famous author.

Brooke looked over at the stand and saw that it was empty. Where was Lucas? All she saw was the girl that was sitting there put a 'Be Back in Five' sign on the table and walk over to some refreshments towards the back of the store.

A tap on her shoulder made her turn around. It was Lucas Scott and his baby blue eyes staring at her.

"Well, if it isn't Brooke Davis famous fashion designer in the flesh," Lucas said and smiled.

Brooke put on her best smile for him, but in all honesty, she was scared out of her mind. She hadn't stood this close to Lucas in a long time either and the limited space was making her light headed. She bent down and picked up his book that she had dropped earlier.

"Yeah, it's me," She said trying to keep her voice steady. "I see you wrote a new book, that's so great Lucas."

He chuckled. "Yeah well it's hardly running your own corporation."

"I'd rather be doing this."

"Really?"

"No," She replied and he laughed. She smiled a genuine smile.

"It's really good to see you Brooke." Lucas said, his eyes boring into hers. Brooke could feel her heart race and her palms sweat. She had to get out of there.

"You too," She said. "I hate to cut it short but…"

"Then don't," Lucas said, "Come out for coffee with me."

"Oh I really can't Luke-Lucas I'm sorry." She didn't feel okay calling him 'Luke' like they had been friends this whole time. She didn't know him, and he didn't know her.

She began walking away until she heard his voice again.

"I heard your getting married, maybe you want to talk about that." Lucas said, grasping for straws.

So he knew that she was getting married. He must have seen it on T.V.

"Yeah, I am, this Sunday actually."

Lucas looked surprised. "Wow that fast, huh?"

Brooke nodded still not taking any steps toward him.

Lucas didn't have the same decision. He walked up to her.

"Please," He whispered, annunciating every word, "Have coffee with me. We can catch up on old times, you know?"

Brooke knew, but she didn't want to. She didn't want to bring up the past and she definitely didn't want to talk about her future. For some reason, she just wasn't ready with Lucas to start talking like nothing happened, even though it was so long ago just the fact that he brought out these feelings in her scared her. She wasn't supposed to be feeling like this and she didn't want to put herself in a situation that might hurt her and Marcus' relationship. She would tell Marcus she was going out with him before actually doing it. Of course, that was if she even decided to go at all.

She smiled, "I really would like to but I have to go and meet Marcus, you know, plan the wedding stuff but it was really good seeing you. We should go out another time. Bye!"

She said and ran out of the store. Lucas watched her go and then ran out to catch her. It was too late though, she was halfway down the street already.

"Let me in," He whispered to no one, and after waiting a good solid five more minutes, he finally went back in.

* * *

Brooke was out of breath with nothing to do. She could try and meet Marcus for maybe a lunch but she doubted he would have time for it. He was just so dedicated to his job, and Brooke admired him for that but she also missed him a lot too.

She considered calling Peyton again and canceling their get together for tomorrow but then decided against it. If Peyton was trying to turn over a new leaf and get over her past mistakes, Brooke wasn't about to stop her or try to bring up the past. Brooke was trying to get over it, even if Lucas was the only one she couldn't get over it with.

She settled on her favorite little coffee shop.

Only In Your Dreams wasn't busy, not like Brooke thought it was going to be anyways but she was still a bit sad to see it in such a condition. She hoped it wasn't closing. Like everything else in New York, the weak didn't survive.

She always thought about donating money to the place, but was always afraid that they would think she took pity on it or was doing it for publicity. That was the thing about fame that was hard. People judged her without even knowing her.

She opened the door and felt the familiar jingle of the bells. She smiled and welcomed the tasty scents coming from the small café.

She walked over and sat down on one of the stools at the counter.

"One vanilla cappuccino please," She said and then looked around. The place was decorated with lights and old photos and picture frames along with letters written to the café saying what great service they had. Also, along the main wall, were petitions to keep the café open.

"Are you guys closing?" She asked one of the employee's.

"Were not sure yet," The girl said, "We'll find out a week from Wednesday."

"I really hope you don't," Brooke said sincerely. She read the girl's nametag. It said Ashley.

"Me too," Ashley replied, "This place was basically where I grew up. I knew the manager here so she let me work when I was younger. I have been working here ever since. It's like my home."

Brooke nodded. "I feel like it's somehow mine too."

Ashley just looked at Brooke with a tender smile. "I'll go and get you're drink."

Brooke sighed and put her head in her hands.

"Brooke Davis!" Yelled someone that Brooke figured was probably paparazzi. _Great._ So far she had been able to keep this place a secret. But, she guessed all secrets eventually get out.

She turned around and saw that it was not a paparazzo, but in fact Marvin McFadden.

"Mouth!" She yelled and got up to hug him. She missed him, even after their awkward talk earlier. "I thought you were paparazzi! What are you doing here?"

"Well I'm in that category but I'm a newscaster now. I go to this place all the time; I'm surprised I haven't seen you here before."

"So you heard…" Brooke began.

"Yeah, and I think it really sucks how they might close this place down." By now Mouth had pulled up a seat next to her.

"I know, I wish I could help but I just…" She trailed off. Mouth didn't argue it.

Brooke turned to Mouth. "So Mouth, about the last time we talked…I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry that I was so mean and bitter. That's exactly what I was too, bitter. I was mad about Lucas and Peyton and I took it out on you. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be, I was the jerk. I mean I didn't give you a chance to talk and just said things to make you feel bad. The real reason was because I was in love with you. I've always loved you Brooke. But I'm sorry because I never should have said those things to you."

"It's okay; it looks like we both turned out how we wanted to. I'd rather just put it in the past." Brooke said.

"I agree but," Mouth said, leaning in closer to her, "You can't hide from the past all the time."

"Miss, here's your drink." Ashley said, sliding Brooke's order towards her. Brooke smiled and thanked her.

"Well I should go." Mouth said, getting up.

"Wait, can't you have coffee with me?" Brooke asked.

Mouth shook his head. "Sorry, I'm on a tight schedule. I have to be at the station at 5:00 and its 4:15 now. It takes an hour to get there."

"Okay but Mouth I need to ask you something!" Brooke yelled, trying to stop him from leaving.

"What is it?" He yelled back, not stopping his movements.

"I'm having a wedding on Sunday, will you come?"

He smiled wide. "Sure Brooke, for you I'll go."

She smiled and waved bye to him. He waved back and was out the door like lightening. Almost like he hadn't been there at all. Brooke sighed. Now she almost felt guilty for turning Lucas' coffee offer down.

She would have to face him sometime. Like Mouth said, you can't run from the past all the time. Brooke sighed and sipped her coffee while watching the people walk by outside.

* * *

It was getting late, and Brooke knew she and Marcus had some things to go over, more about Lucas than anything one or anything else. Brooke was trying to prepare herself for something to say to him, something that would reassure her heart and his. It wasn't that she was still in love with Lucas, or at least she hoped she wasn't, but it was more that since he was here she would have to explain to him what had happened. Her past wasn't something she wanted to revisit.

By the time she reached her apartment Marcus was sipping coffee like he did every night before bed and sitting on the couch with some papers. He looked up from his work load when he heard Brooke's heels clacking against the cool marble surface.

"Hey honey," Marcus greeted her in his smooth voice, "How was your day?"

It was at moments like these that Brooke just wanted to cuddle with him and be with him and just make the world go away. She knew Marcus would be a good husband but lately she had been wondering if she would make a good wife. She knew that she shouldn't worry, because marriage was always rocky just like her mother had said but she couldn't help but feel insecure _because_ of how her parents treated each other.

She smiled and sat next to him on the couch, "It was good, really good. Marcus I…"

He looked up at her, smiling his whole smile and she felt her heart sink. How was she going to tell him about Lucas?

"Yes?" He asked her and pulled her into his lap. He put his papers off to the side and let Brooke snuggle into him.

She found this position most rewarding because then she wouldn't have to look at him so much.

"I need to tell you something. I want to be completely honest with you since were getting married this weekend…" Brooke began and saw Marcus soft features turn tight.

"It's nothing you should be worried about," _I don't think, _Brooke thought, "But it's something you should know."

He nodded, urging her to go on. "Remember when you told me you met with Lucas and I told you that he was just a friend from high school that I had a falling out with?"

He nodded again and her heart shrunk.

"Well he wasn't exactly _just_ a falling out. And he wasn't technically just my friend either. I went out with him for most of my high school career and during that time that we were together we did a lot of hurtful things to each other. For instance, he cheated on me with my best friend the first time we went out but I forgave him after a long time and after he earned my trust back and then we went out again but my friend also got in the way but it was me who broke it off that time. After that he dated her for the rest of the year and I haven't spoken to him since our graduation. I was in his first novel that he wrote. It was a small part, but he read me the part that it was before we parted ways."

She took a deep breath and held Marcus closer. It was hard talking about this, actually _hard _forming the words and opening the wounds she had so perfectly tucked away for the past 5 years.

"I guess the reason I'm telling you this is because he…" She was about to say that he wrote a book about her but she decided against it. Maybe it was her fear that was showing but she just didn't have the heart to tell him now. "He's back in town and you met him so I just thought you should know some details about him just incase you meet again."

She could feel Marcus shifting beneath her and she hoped he wasn't about to get up. He didn't, and pulled her closer placing a soft kiss on her forehead. She closed her eyes, trying to literally feel his scent, his words, his motions, everything. She wanted to breathe him in and forget the feelings she had been experiencing since Lucas came back. Marcus was the one good thing in her life right now and pushing him away was the last thing she needed.

"I'm glad you told me Brooke," He began and Brooke looked up into his brown eyes, "I'm not mad and I'm not going to go over and bust his face in."

Brooke let herself laugh a little.

"But I just want to let you know that I'm in this for the long haul and I want to know everything about you but I don't want you to be afraid to tell me. I'm going to be here for you Brooke Davis, always."

Brooke's mouth almost opened in shock. She had words like that from Lucas before, but they were always broken sometime later. For some reason she felt like Marcus' words were permanent and that scared her.

"Thanks babe," She told him and kissed him on the lips. She got up from her position and went to the window and saw the shining bookstore with its lights on and people inside of it. She knew what she had to do. She couldn't just sit in here and worry about Lucas she had to try and face her fears about him and the one way she could start that was if she got that cup of coffee with him. "I might have to go back to the office for a little bit, I'll be back a little late so don't wait up."

Marcus went over to her and kissed her softly on the lips. "I'm going to bed anyways. Don't work yourself too much, the wedding is coming up and I don't want you stressing about anything."

Brooke nodded and once she saw he was in the bedroom she sighed. Why was Marcus being so nice to her? They rarely fought and if they did he would give in quickly. Brooke hated thinking it but sometimes she just wished he would yell at her, have some big blowout with him just to prove that they weren't perfect, that _he_ wasn't perfect. Alas, she had lied about where she was going and who she was seeing.

Brooke began gathering her things and left the apartment. She reached the doors of the bookstore but a sight stopped her from going all the way in. It was Lucas with that girl he was with earlier. She didn't like it, but she felt a pang in her chest the way she used to when she had seen Lucas and Peyton talking. It still pained her to see him talking to other girls.

She took a deep breath and pushed the doors open, letting herself go in.

Lucas saw her immediately and almost looked shocked to see her. He withdrew from his conversation quickly and excused himself from the girl while he walked over to her. Brooke's nerves were beginning to get the best of her and she tried to calm herself down.

"Brooke, what are you doing here?" He asked. All Brooke could do was smile at him.

"I just…" Just then the girl that he was speaking to came up to them. She smiled and extended her hand to Brooke.

"This is Lindsay," Lucas told Brooke and almost looked disappointed that this Lindsay girl even came by. "She's my editor."

Brooke smiled and shook the woman's hand. "Hi I'm Brooke Davis, the fashion designer."

"Oh!" Lindsay exclaimed. "I love your line! I practically have all my clothes from there."

Brooke kept her smile on and told her thanks and that she would try and get her some free samples the next time something new came in. Lindsay thanked her and then explained she had to go and help someone over there. She left which meant that Lucas and Brooke were now alone together. Brooke decided to do it now.

"Remember that coffee you offered to me earlier?" Brooke asked.

Lucas nodded the corners of his mouth twitching to turn into a smile.

"I decided that I would like to go with you whenever you're free." Brooke told him, trying to avoid his eyes. They still made her uncomfortable.

Lucas walked away from her and Brooke could feel a pang of rejection course through her. This was a bad idea. Just as quickly as he left Lucas was back again, his coat in his hand.

"How about now?"

Brooke laughed at the silliness of the whole situation but found herself taking his arm in hers as he led her out of the bookstore to the nearest Starbucks.


End file.
